Nut-lock.



N. M. VAN ORMBR.

NUT LOOK.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 12, 1911.

1,018,855. Patented Feb.27, 1912.

Jami-i=1 r 113.. E

COLUMBIA PLANMRAPH C0" WASHINGTON n c TTNTTED STATES PATENT @FFTCE.

NER M. VAN ORMER, F RYDE, PENNSYLVANIA.

NUT-LOCK.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Nun M. VAN Onwnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ryde, in the county of Miiilin and State of Pennsylvania,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nut-Locks; and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention is in the nature of a nut lock for general purposes, butespecially adapted for locking the nuts on bolts in pitmen in threshingmachines, harvesters and other farm machinery and in railway joints.

The object of the invention is to provide a nut lock which will rigidlylock two nuts together and at the same time permit of being readilyunlocked, and to provide also additional means whereby the two nuts maybe permanently locked together so that they cannot be separated withoutbreaking or injuring it.

With these objects in view the invention consists in the improvedconstruction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fullydescribed and afterward specifically claimed.

In order that the construction and operation of the invention may bereadily understood, I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of it inthe accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, the nuts being locked together;Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on the broken line 22 of Fig. 1,with the parts in the same position as in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transversesectional view on the broken line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a viewpartlysectional on the same plane as Fig. 2 and partly in elevation, thelocking device being shown depressed or in its inoperative position, andthe outer nut partially turned from its position shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 5is a perspective view of the lower nut; Fig. 6 is a perspective view ofthe upper nut, inverted; Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of thelocking member, and Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view on the sameplane as Figs. 2 and 4, showing a modlfication of the invention forpermanently locking the nuts together.

Like reference numerals mark the same parts wherever they occur in thevarious figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 10 indicates a Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed April 12, 1911.

Patented Feb. 2'7, 1912.

Serial No. 620,632.

I bolt provided with any usual form of thread 11, and also with alongitudinal groove 12 which is rectangular in cross sectional form. Theinner nut 14, which will be turned up against a part 13 through whichthe bolt passes, may be of any preferred outline, being here shown assquare, although it will. be obvious that hexagonal, rectangular, orother forms might be used. The nut is threaded at 15 as is usual, and isprovided in its inner threaded walls with longitudinal grooves 16, 17,of which there may be any desired number and which are adapted,'duringthe turning of the nut upon the bolt, to be brought into register withthe groove 12 of the bolt. Leading from each of the longitudinal grooves16. 17. is a transverse groove. as at 18, 19, which is of the samegeneral dimensions as the longitudinal groove 12 of the bolt and thelongitudinal grooves 16 and 17 of the nut. The outer nut is shown indetail in Fig. 6 at 20. It is also threaded as is usual, at 21, and itsinner face 22 is provided with any desired number of radial grooves 23which are, at their outer ends, of substantially the same width anddepth as the grooves in the bolt and the inner nut, but which decreasein depth toward the center, the bottom 24 being inclined until, at thecenter. the grooves disappear.

In Fig. 7 I have shown my locking member which is preferably arectangular bar of spring steel of dimensions to fit in the grooves ofthe bolt and the nut, the locking member as a whole being indicated at25 and comprising an end 26 of the original form of the bar, separatedfrom another end 27 of substantially the same form but connected theretoby a thin neck 28, the bar being bent, at this thin neck, to a slightlyobtuse angle, as clearly shown.

Assuming that the nuts are to be locked upon the bolt, the inner nut 14is turned up until one of the grooves 16, 17, is in register with thegroove 12 of the bolt. The end 26 of the locking member is now insertedin the opening between the bolt and the nut formed by registeringgrooves of the bolt and nut, into which it will snugly fit and preventthe nut 14 from being turned on the bolt. The end 27 of the lockingmember will rest in the horizontal groove which leads from the verticalgroove in which the end 26 has been placed; that is to say, assunningthat the end 26 has been placed in the groove 17, the end 27 will restpartially in the groove 19 but will project, owing to the fact that itlies at an obtuse angle with the end 26 above the walls of the groove19, and will be held in this elevated projecting position yieldingly bymeans of the spring neck 28. The outer nut 20 will now be turned uponthe bolt until its inner face comes in contact with the projecting end27 of the locking member, and this projecting end 27 will then act as alatch, which will spring into the first one of the grooves 23 of the nut20, which is brought onto register with it. In order that the nut 20 maynot be locked against turning until it is brought into close contactwith the nut 14, the latch end 27 of the locking member will bedepressed into the position indicated in Fig. 4, in which it is heldwholly in the groove 19 until the nut 20 is turned up to the position inwhich it is desired to lock it. In this position, one of the grooves 23will be in register with the groove 19 and the latch end 27 beingreleased will spring into the position shown in Fig. 2 in whichsubstantially one-half of it is in the groove 23 and the other half inthe groove 19. Inasmuch as the grooves and the latch bar are rectangularin outline, and the further fact that the latching bar fits snugly inthe grooves, all strains tending to turn the nut 20 when it is locked inposition, as shown in Fig. 2, will be brought directly against the mainbody of the latch member and will bring no strain whatever against thethin resilient connecting neck 28, the effect produced by the latchmember being the same as though it were an independent member.

From the foregoing it will be readily observed that the nut 20 may beadjusted with great nicety by providing it with a number of grooves 23and that it may be readily released by depressing the latch member intothe position shown in Fig. at which would leave said nut free to beturned off the bolt, but at the same time the nut 1d will still befirmly locked on the bolt. The nut 14 however may be readily removed bywithdrawing the end 26 of the locking member from the groove 17 It maybe found desirable at times to permanently lock the nuts together sothat they will not be released by unauthorized persons and so that theycan only be released by breaking or marring them. For such purposes Ihave provided the modified means illustrated in Fig. 8, in which theparts are the same as hereinbefore described, and the positionillustrated the same as that in Fig. 2. In this position the wedge 29 isdriven into the groove 19 beneath the latch end 27 of the locking member25. This wedge is driven in until its outer end is at least flush with,if not sunken in, the groove 19, which will eifectually hold the latchend 27 in its raised position in the groove 23 and prevent thedepression of the latch to the position shown in Fig. 4, obviouslypreventing the removal of either of the nuts from the bolt. The wedge 29cannot be removed without cutting or boring it out or those skilled inthe art that many changes and variations may be made in suchconstruction and outline without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.-

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1.'A nut lockcomprising a bolt provided with a longitudinal groove, an inner nutprovided with a radial groove in its outer face and a groove adapted tobe brought into register with the groove of the bolt thereby forming acompound groove, a looking member adapted to be snugly fitted into thecompound groove of the bolt and inner nut and projecting outwardlytherefrom into the vertical plane of the radial groove, and an outer nutadapted to press the projection of the locking member into the radialgroove and provided with means engaging the locking member to preventthe outer nut turning.

2. A lock nut comprising a bolt provided with a longitudinal groove, aninner nutprovided with a radial groove in its outer face and a grooveadapted to be brought into register with the groove of the bolt therebyforming a compound groove, a locking member comprising two endsresiliently connected together, one of said ends adapted to be snuglyfitted in the compound groove of the bolt and inner nut and the otherend to project yieldingly into the vertical plane of the radial groove,and an outer nut adapted to press the projecting end of the lockingmember into the radial groove and provided with means engaging theradial end of the locking member to prevent the outer nut turning. o

3. A nut lock comprising a bolt provided with a longitudinal groove, anouter nut, an inner not provided with a groove adapted to be broughtinto register with the groove inner nut provided with a groove adaptedto be brought into register with the groove of the bolt thereby forminga compound groove, and a locking member comprising two ends resilientlyconnected together, one of said ends adapted to be snugly fitted in thecompound groove of the bolt and inner nut and the other end to projectyieldingly into the path of the outer nut, said outer nut being providedwith radial grooves 011 its inner face to co-act with said yieldinglyprojected end.

5. A nut lock comprising a bolt having a longitudinal groove, an outernut having a radial groove in its inner face, an inner nut provided witha radial groove in its outer face and a longitudinal groove adapted tobe brought into register with the groove of the bolt forming a compoundgroove, and a locking member comprising two rectangular ends joined by athin resilient neck,

one end being adapted to fit snugly in the compound groove and the otherend lying at an obtuse angle thereto and adapted to project into theradial grooves of the outer and inner nuts.

6. A nut lock comprising a bolt having a longitudinal groove, an outernut, an inner nut provided With a longitudinal groove adapted to bebrought into register with the groove of the bolt forming a compoundgroove, and a locking member comprising two rectangular ends joined by athin resilient neck, one end being adapted to fit snugly in the compoundgroove and the other end lying at an obtuse angle thereto and projectingin the path of movement of the outer nut, the inner and outer nuts beingprovided with radial grooves in their meeting faces to co-act with saidprojecting end, the radial grooves of the inner nut being of equal depththroughout and those of the outer nut increasing in depth from thecenter outward.

7. A nut lock comprising a bolt, an inner nut'provided with a radialgroove in its outer face of equal depth throughout, an outer nutprovided with a radial groove in its inner face increasing in depth fromthe center outward, the two grooves when in register forming a compoundradial groove increasing in depth outwardly, a locking member adapted tobe seated between and to lock the bolt and inner nut together and havinga projecting latch end in the compound radial groove, and a wedge driveninto the compound radial groove by the side of said latch end to preventthe displacement of the projecting latch end.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

NE-R M. VAN ORMER. Witnesses:

L. O. HILTON,

M. A. Woon.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

